Black Edge's Oath (Combined Chapter)

Boom!

The gathered wisps of fire energy erupted from the body of a blue-faced, fanged humanoid monster, causing it to collapse with a thud. Before the monster, Li Shuyi slowly sheathed her twin swords, and Bai Xiaowen also sheathed his Desert Eagle.

A notification message regarding the Spirit Realm Rules has arrived:

"You wiped out the Orcs scout squad of the Sinlands Coalition."

Your reputation with the Human Allied Army has increased to: Honored.

"Your reputation with the Sinlands Coalition has decreased to: Hatred."

"Your squad has earned 140 Merit Points this time, bringing their total Merit Points to 970."

Li Shuyi's small face was covered in dust, and she looked very tired. "We've traveled to more than a dozen territories in the Northern Frontier during this time. Is this the last territory?"

Bai Xiaowen nodded. "Judging from the map, this is Raya Town, which is also our last stop. There are still a little over 16 hours until the [The Flames of Blackrock] main quest begins. Let's return to Redleaf City now, take our troops, and join the battle on the Blackrock Line."

After maintaining order within Redleaf City, Bai Xiaowen took Li Shuyi and wandered among the various territories of the Northern Frontier.

When not in combat, Bai Xiaowen put away the summoned creatures from the Black Soul Stone, only summoning Rageclaw for the two of them to ride. If it weren't for Rageclaw's fast running speed, the two of them definitely wouldn't have been able to travel all over the entire Northern Frontier in just eight or nine days.

During this time, Bai Xiaowen and his companion encountered several infiltration teams from the Sinlands Coalition, which were eliminated on the spot. They gained a certain understanding of the elite members of the various races within the Sinlands Coalition.

The Orcs is divided into two branches: pure-blood Orcs and Orcs, who were the blue-faced, fanged humanoid monsters who were just killed. Pure-blood Orcs are taller and stronger, and more Brutality in nature. Their individual strength is in no way inferior to that of the Elite Tier headhunters of the Trolls.

Hybrid Orcs are the offspring of Orcs and humans. They are less powerful, but generally more agile.

In addition, there are Dark Elves rangers and scimitar warriors, who all follow an agility-based strategy.

Overall, the Remnants of the Sinlands Coalition, whether in the Standard Template or Elite Template, are stronger than humans of the same level. Of course, the Boss Template is a different story.

Bai Xiaowen muttered to himself, "Is it really true that the harsher the environment, the more likely it is to produce a fighting nation?" He thought of another time and space, a certain magical nation that could beat up a brown bear as if it were a teddy bear, who seemed to live in the icy and snowy land year-round.

In any case, the defensive situation at Blackrock Fortress is quite dire.

Upon returning to Redleaf City, Bai Xiaowen immediately prepared and led his guards to escort a batch of supplies to Blackrock City further north.

Bai Xiaowen's guard has now swelled to over five hundred men. With money and supplies, they can naturally continue to expand their ranks. The original proportion of bandits has been diluted to less than half, so calling them a bandit guard is no longer appropriate. Now they have a more resounding name: the White Stone Army.

Just before the second main quest began, Bai Xiaowen led the White Stone Army to Blackrock City and met the prince himself.

After seeing him on the Communication Rune Stone, Bai Xiaowen thought the prince was nothing special. But after seeing Prince Nicholas in person, Bai Xiaowen realized with a touch of envy what it meant to have the aura of Chosen One of the Plane, and what it meant to have the demeanor of Master Tier.

Prince Nicholas, clad in military uniform, already exuded the aura of a future Master Tier. It seemed that nothing could faze him, and he always managed to issue appropriate orders in an orderly manner to resolve new situations.

The lord in front of Bai Xiaowen was already captivated by Prince Nicholas's personal charisma and immediately bowed down, completely subdued by Prince Nicholas's domineering aura.

Fortunately, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi are awakened beings and are immune to Prince Nicholas's aura of Chosen One of the Plane.

"You've finally arrived. There were eleven orders awaiting your signature before you, and twice as many people waiting to be received, but I postponed all of those appointments to welcome you." Prince Nicholas smiled sincerely.

Bai Xiaowen feigned trepidation. "It is my honor to receive Your Highness's attention."

Prince Nicholas laughed, "There's no need to feel alarmed. Given your achievements, no amount of praise is too much for me. The people of Redleaf City were able to escape the clutches of the Necrotic Plague entirely thanks to you and your scholar. By the way, has that scholar arrived yet? I also need to reward him."

Bai Xiaowen sighed and said, "Your Highness, I have done my best, but only about half of the people of Redleaf City survived. The other half eventually became ghosts and were killed by my own guards... I am ashamed that I was unable to save more people."

This truth cannot be concealed or altered. Prince Nicholas had two high-ranking informants, Knight Job and Knight Ferdinand, who were constantly monitoring the Transformation in Redleaf City. During the days the Plague Bane was used, the two knights assisted in maintaining order within Redleaf City; how could the fact that at least half the city's inhabitants had died be kept secret?

Moreover, Bai Xiaowen's actions of buying low and selling high, amassing wealth through the Plaguebane Industries, could not have escaped the notice of the two knights, and Prince Nicholas must have known about it as well.

However, Prince Nicholas did not see anything wrong with doing so. He was a crown prince who had received a royal Elite Tier education from a young age, not a hot-blooded youth brainwashed by chivalric dogma, and of course he knew the principle that too much purity leaves no room for fish.

It is a fact that Bai Xiaowen saved more than 10,000 lives, and that is an undeniable achievement. Given this, Bai Xiaowen was merely greedy for money and did not overstep any boundaries by robbing others. Prince Nicholas will certainly turn a blind eye to this.

As for the reward for the scholar, since Bai Xiaowen changed the subject, Prince Nicholas tacitly refrained from mentioning it again—it was, in fact, a taboo topic.

In the Kane Plane, there is a saying, "The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal."

The explanation is that Bai Xiaowen was appointed lord by the Gorseflower Empire, making him a vassal of the emperor. However, the army and personnel under Bai Xiaowen's Bai Xiaowen are all his personal "vassals," and the empire cannot directly command them.

This is also a characteristic of the ancient feudal system on Earth, such as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in China and the Middle Ages in Europe.

The Zombie Doctor has developed a cure for the Plague Bane, making him an extremely rare talent. Prince Nicholas's offer of a reward inevitably reveals his intention to test whether he can recruit this "erudite scholar" for his own use.

Of course, Bai Xiaowen had his reasons; he was Zombie Doctor's master, that much was undeniable. The reason he didn't want Zombie Doctor to meet Prince Nicholas was simply to avoid arousing suspicion.

Given Zombie Doctor's rambling, modern-sounding speech style, he'd give himself away in no time. Prince Nicholas wasn't an ignorant girl like Bonita who could easily gloss over things. It wouldn't be good if he saw through Bai Xiaowen and Zombie Doctor's identities as not belonging to the Kane Plane.

Prince Nicholas said, "You don't need to blame yourself too much; I'm the one who should blame myself. As a prince, I couldn't save my people and could only issue a massacre order. If it weren't for you, not a single resident of Redleaf City would have survived."

After a pause, Prince Nicholas said, "You have done a great service. Moreover, I have not forgotten your merit in investigating the truth behind the Necrotic Plague in Redleaf City."

A notification message regarding the Spirit Realm Rules sounded:

"Heroic Tier main quest step 2 [Anti-Plague] has partially met the completion requirements. Quest objective A is complete, with an individual completion rate of 47%. Overall quest completion rate: 15.67% (unsatisfactory)."

Should the task be submitted with the completion level specified above?

[It seems that task objective A is relatively simple, with a weight of only 1/3 in the overall completion rate, while task objective B has a weight of 2/3!] Bai Xiaowen calculated the proportions without even blinking.

Bai Xiaowen refused. Facing Prince Nicholas's questioning gaze, he said sincerely, "The fight against the Necrotic Plague is not over yet. I have vowed to eradicate all the Plague Undead in the entire Northern Frontier. Please grant me permission, Your Highness."

This statement means that Bai Xiaowen is unwilling to submit the task, but instead wants to complete task objective B as well, and then tally the completion rate at the end.

Prince Nicholas nodded approvingly, saying, "Your ambition is lofty and admirable."

The Spirit Realm Rules notification sounded again:

"Heroic Tier side quest step 2 [Anti-Plague] is temporarily Sealing. The reward for Heroic Tier side quest step 1 [The Truth of the Plague] will now be awarded."

"Your team has earned 3000 Human Allied Army Merit Points."

"You have obtained a special item: Broken Oath."

"You currently possess three special items: Broken Oath. The side quest [Black Edge's Oath] is now available."

"Mission Objective: Obtain a total of seven special items: Broken Oath, and combine them."

"Mission deadline: None."

"Mission difficulty: Unknown."

"Mission Reward: Special Item: Oath of Black Edge"

[Oath of Black Edge: Team-Building Item. Allows one Awakened being of level 6 or below (including level 6, the same below) to create a team and recruit other Awakened being of level 6 or below to join. The total number of team members cannot exceed (2). Team members will receive certain bonus effects when fighting side by side. Once the team is created, it is permanently established unless the team leader chooses to disband it.]

Three thousand Merit Points were just so-so, but the reward of the [Broken Oath] and the side quest [Black Edge's Oath] that continued to be unlocked greatly invigorated Bai Xiaowen.

This is Permanent Team-Building Item!

Permanent Team-Building Item not only save you the Psionic Points needed to create temporary teams in the future, but also offer a more important benefit compared to temporary teams: the "fighting side by side" bonus.

Based on available information, some teams have incredibly powerful buffs that can significantly boost the strength of their members! Of course, some captains with bad luck may draw teams with only average buffs, which is also related to the quality of the Team-Building Item.

However, even a "very average" team buff is better than nothing.

There are seven Black Edge Arbiter Knights like Ian. The normal procedure is to kill all seven of them, with each dropping a "Broken Oath," which, when combined, forms the "Oath of Black Edge."

However, Bai Xiaowen has now connected with the prince, and they are all comrades-in-arms, so he can only take the route of mission rewards. Obtaining the remaining four "Broken Oath" from Prince Nicholas has become a major goal for Bai Xiaowen.

Prince Nicholas continued, "As previously agreed, you are now the commander of the Seventeenth Infantry Formation. The vanguard of the Sinlands's Remnants could arrive at any moment; there's no time for us to chat. Go, Lord Dio, and with your troops as the main force, integrate the Seventeenth Infantry Formation. The Empire needs your strength."

Bai Xiaowen nodded, pounding his chest with his right hand. "I will shed my last drop of blood for the empire, Your Highness."

Prince Nicholas nodded with satisfaction.

Bai Xiaowen turned and left. With his exceptional Divine Might, he could vaguely sense that Prince Nicholas's gaze held a deeper meaning and had been fixed on him for a long time.

The Blackrock Line consists of three lines, each with three infantry phalanxes working together for defense, totaling nine infantry phalanxes, numbered from eleventh to nineteenth. These nine phalanxes are all formed from the private armies of the various lords of the Northern Frontier.

As for the first to tenth formations, they were the Gorseflower Empire legions personally led by Prince Nicholas, guarding the Blackrock Fortress.

Simply put, the eleventh to Nineteenth Infantry Formation were cannon fodder—the fortress was already overcrowded, so these nine formations couldn't be stationed inside the fortress; they could only be brought out to deplete the enemy's forces.

Bai Xiaowen's Seventeenth Infantry Formation was assigned to the innermost third line of defense. This line of defense was undoubtedly the safest; only if the first two lines collapsed would the third line of defense be able to withstand the enemy's attack.

This was a special arrangement by Prince Nicholas, and Bai Xiaowen was also appointed as the forward commander of the third line of defense.

This is one of the hidden benefits of completing the second step of the Heroic Tier Side Quest: Prince Nicholas's Affection Level. Without affecting the overall situation, he will arrange Bai Xiaowen's army in a relatively safe location.

Bai Xiaowen climbed to a high point and looked into the distance. He could vaguely see the vanguard of the Remnants people, groups of short and stocky Orcs laborers busily building camps, preparing resting places for the waves of troops that would arrive later.

"The third line of defense is definitely safe, but shouldn't we move forward a bit?" Li Shuyi said. "Only by killing more enemies can we get more treasure chests and earn more Merit Points."

Bai Xiaowen laughed and said, "Who says you can't kill the enemy on the third line of defense? The first line of defense has to withstand the charge of the Remnants army. At that time, the morale of the Remnants army is high, so you won't gain any advantage."

Sorry for the late update! Something came up.